Bet settlement rules: extra time, retirements, postponed matches and refunds
Bet settlement rules decide whether your bet wins, loses or ends in a refund, and they do not always match what you see on the scoreboard. In football what counts is usually 90 minutes plus stoppage time, without extra time or penalties. In ice hockey it depends on the market, in basketball overtime usually counts, and in tennis a player's retirement can mean a win, a loss or a refund, depending on the bookmaker's rules. A void leg in an accumulator counts at odds of 1.00 and the rest of the slip plays on.
Key takeaways
- 1
A tennis retirement is settled under one of three rules (void unless the match is completed, settled once the first set is completed, or settled once the match has started), and all three are in use.
- 2
A 4.5 cards line is two different bets: counted on yellow cards only it landed in 36% of 14,277 matches, counted in points of 1 for a yellow, 2 for a red and 3 for a sending-off after two yellows in 42%.
- 3
A postponed match usually has 24–48 hours to be played, after which the bet ends in a refund.
- 4
A void leg in an accumulator lowers the return: in our example a £50 slip pays £108.75 instead of £195.75.
Why settlement differs from one bookmaker to the next
Every licensed bookmaker has betting rules, with a section on how each sport is settled. Most of the rules are similar everywhere, but the details can differ: how many hours a match can be delayed, when a retirement stops voiding a bet, whether a goal line in ice hockey includes overtime. These details rarely matter, until the day they decide your bet.
So before you bet on a market you do not know, read the bookmaker's rules for it. Below we collect the rules typical of most operators: treat them as a starting point, not a guarantee.
Regulation time, extra time and penalties
Football
The standard is simple: match bets (1X2, over/under, handicaps, BTTS, correct score) are settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties have no effect on them.
The exception is markets that by their nature cover the whole tie: "to qualify", "to win the tie", "to lift the trophy". If you bet on a team reaching the next round of a cup, what counts is whether it went through, on penalties too. Bookmakers usually say in the market name that it includes extra time (for example "including extra time and penalties"). If the name does not say so, assume 90 minutes.
Example: a cup match ends 1-1 after 90 minutes and the home side win on penalties. A bet on "1" loses, "X" wins, and "home side to qualify" wins.
Ice hockey
This is where the differences are greatest. The classic three-way 1X2 market is settled on regulation time (three periods of 20 minutes). Next to it, bookmakers offer a two-way "match winner" market that includes overtime and the shootout. Goal lines and handicaps come in both versions, and the market description (or the rules) tells you which one you are playing.
Example: after three periods it is 2-2, and the home side win 3-2 in overtime.
- "1" in 1X2 (regulation time): loses, because it was a draw after 60 minutes.
- "Match winner: home side" (including overtime): wins.
- Under 4.5 goals in regulation time: wins (4 goals were scored).
- Over 4.5 goals including overtime: also wins (5 goals).
One match, two bets that seem to contradict each other, and both win. It can work the other way round too, which is why in ice hockey you should always check the note next to the market. After a shootout, bookmakers usually add one goal to the winner's final score, not every penalty scored.
Basketball, volleyball and tennis
In basketball overtime usually counts towards match-winner, handicap and total points bets, because the game cannot end in a draw. The exception is the three-way market (with a draw), which is settled on regulation time. In volleyball and tennis the question of extra time does not arise, because play goes on until there is a winner. The trouble there comes from elsewhere.
Tennis retirements: three common rules
A retirement is when a player withdraws during a match, most often because of injury. The official result is clear, the opponent goes through, but bookmakers settle bets under one of three rules:
- The match must be completed. If a player retires, all match-winner bets are void and you get your stake back.
- The first set must be completed. A retirement after the first set means a win for the player left on court. A retirement during the first set means a refund.
- The match only has to start. Even a retirement after the first point is settled: the player who withdrew loses.
An illustrative example: you back player A and her opponent retires at 6–4, 1–2. A bookmaker with rule 1 refunds your stake, one with rule 2 or 3 pays out a win. Had it been your player who retired, rule 1 would return the stake, and rules 2 and 3 would make it a loss.
Markets already decided before the retirement (for example the first-set winner, when the set was completed) are usually settled as normal, and undecided ones are void. A walkover before the match (a player does not come out on court) almost always means a refund.
All three rules are in use, so which one applies depends on your bookmaker: check its tennis rules before you bet. How often players retire, at what point in the match and what happens to first-set and total games bets is covered in our article on tennis retirements and walkovers.
These differences are especially dangerous when you bet at two bookmakers at once, for example on surebets: one bet can be void and the other lost.
Postponed, abandoned and relocated matches
Postponed match. Most bookmakers wait a set time from the original date, most often 24–48 hours, sometimes longer at tournaments. If the match is played within that window, the bet is settled as normal. If not, the stake is refunded (in an accumulator: odds of 1.00). In practice it is almost always a refund: of 2,280 postponed matches in 37 leagues, 0.1% were played within 48 hours, and half after more than a month (the numbers are in our article on postponed and abandoned matches).
Abandoned match. Bets on markets not yet decided when play was stopped are usually void. Markets already decided are settled: if you backed over 1.5 goals and the match was abandoned at 2-0, your bet wins. The first-half result counts if the half was played in full. Some rules treat the match as played if it was completed within a set time, for example the next day.
Change of venue. When a match is moved to the opponent's ground or to a neutral venue, bets are often void, because home advantage changes. A change of stadium within the same city usually makes no difference.
Walkovers and decisions after the match. What counts is the result on the pitch at the final whistle. A later change of the result off the pitch (a walkover awarded for fielding an ineligible player, a points deduction) usually does not change bets already settled. If a walkover was awarded because the match was not played, bets are void.
Goalscorers, players and dead heats in specials
Goalscorer. If the player you backed did not come on to the pitch, most bookmakers refund the stake. If he came on, even for a minute, the bet stands and loses if he did not score. Own goals do not count for goalscorer bets.
Dead heat. In bets such as a league's "top scorer" or "top scorer of the match", several players can finish level. The stake is then usually divided by the number of joint winners. Example: £50 on a player at 6.00 who shares first place with one rival. Half the stake (£25) is settled at 6.00, which is £150, and the other half loses. Return: £150 instead of £300.
Whole lines and pushes. A refund does not come only from a void. On whole lines, such as handicap 0 or over 2.0, a result exactly on the line means the stake is returned. The details, quarter lines included, are in our article on Asian handicap.
Corners, cards and fouls: every bookmaker counts its own way
Stats markets are also settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time, without extra time, but their definitions differ more than those for goals. Cards have the most traps. Some bookmakers count cards, sometimes yellow cards only, and others booking points, in the UK usually 10 for a yellow and 25 for a red. How much the definition matters shows in two bookmakers we track: one counts yellow cards only, the other points of 1 for a yellow, 2 for a red and 3 for a sending-off after two yellows. The same 4.5 line is therefore two different bets: in our sample of 14,277 matches the first landed in 36% of matches and the second in 42%. At the three recreational bookmakers we track, cards shown to the manager or the bench and cards after the final whistle did not count.
For corners, only a corner that is taken counts: one awarded but not taken before the end of the half is lost. For fouls, two of the three bookmakers we track (one of them going by Opta data) do not count a foul after which the referee played advantage. At one of them a shot that hits the post is not a shot on target while a shot cleared off the line is, and only an offside for which a free kick was awarded counts. The rules side by side, and the numbers from well over ten thousand matches, are in our articles on corners, cards, fouls and shots on target and offsides.
Common settlement rules at a glance
| Situation | Most common settlement | What to check in the rules |
|---|---|---|
| Football: extra time and penalties | Do not count (90 min + stoppage time) | "To qualify" and "to win the trophy" markets |
| Ice hockey: 1X2 | Regulation time | Whether over/under and the handicap include overtime |
| Basketball: winner, handicap, total | Including overtime | The three-way market with a draw |
| Tennis: retirement | Depends on the bookmaker: refund, settled after the 1st set or after the first point | Which of the three rules applies |
| Postponed match | Refund if not played within 24–48 h | The exact number of hours |
| Abandoned match | Decided markets settled, the rest refunded | Whether completing the match counts as playing it |
| Change of venue | Refund when the home side changes or at a neutral venue | Whether a change of stadium counts too |
| Walkover off the pitch | The result on the pitch counts | Exceptions for particular competitions |
| Goalscorer did not play | Refund | "First goalscorer" markets |
| Dead heat | Stake divided by the number of joint winners | Whether it applies to the market |
| Football: corners, cards, fouls, shots, offsides | 90 min + stoppage time, without extra time | Whether "cards" means yellows only or points, and "shots" all shots or shots on target |
A void leg in an accumulator: a worked example
In an accumulator, a void leg does not cancel the whole slip. The leg gets odds of 1.00 and the others play on. The combined odds fall, and so does the potential return. More on working out multiples is in our article on accumulator bets. In a system bet the void leg counts at 1.00 in every combination it is in.
An illustrative example, a £50 slip with three legs:
| Leg | Odds | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Football: home win | 1.50 | won |
| Tennis: player A to win | 1.80 | opponent retires in the 1st set, void ("the set must be completed" rule) |
| Football: home win | 1.45 | won |
- Odds before the matches. 1.50 × 1.80 × 1.45 = 3.915. Potential return: 50 × 3.915 = £195.75.
- Recalculation after the retirement. The tennis leg gets odds of 1.00: 1.50 × 1.00 × 1.45 = 2.175.
- Return. 50 × 2.175 = £108.75. Profit: 108.75 − 50 = £58.75.
The slip still wins, but it returns £87.00 less than expected. Had either football match been lost, the whole slip would have lost: the void saves nothing here.
On a single bet, a void means your stake comes back in full.
The same 1.00 rule applies when a bookmaker voids a leg because of an obvious error in the odds. That is a separate story, which we cover in our article on palpable errors. Sometimes, instead of voiding the leg, the bookmaker resettles it at corrected odds.
What to do when a settlement looks wrong
- Check the market description. Most often the "error" is extra time the market did not include, or a retirement settled under a different rule from the one you assumed.
- Find the rule in the terms. The section on settling that sport usually decides the matter in a minute.
- Compare with the official result. Bookmakers settle on the competition's official data. Mistakes when results are entered do happen and are usually corrected once reported.
- Make a complaint. If you think the settlement goes against the rules, complain in writing (by email or through the form) within the time the terms set. Describe the bet, give its number and quote the rule you rely on.
Betting is entertainment, not a way to earn money. Even a correctly settled bet does not change the fact that in the long run the margin works for the bookmaker: bet only amounts you can afford to lose.
In short
- Football: 90 minutes plus stoppage time counts. Extra time and penalties count only on markets such as "to qualify".
- Ice hockey: 1X2 on regulation time, other markets vary, so read the market description.
- Basketball: overtime usually counts.
- Tennis: a retirement is settled under one of three rules, depending on the bookmaker.
- Cards: some bookmakers count cards, sometimes yellows only, others booking points, so the same line is a different bet.
- Postponed match: usually 24–48 hours to be played, then a refund.
- A void leg in an accumulator has odds of 1.00 and the rest of the slip plays on.
FAQ
Usually not. Match bets in football are settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time, without extra time or penalties. Extra time and penalties count only on markets that cover the whole tie, such as "to qualify for the next round" or "to win the trophy".
It depends on the bookmaker's rules, and all three common rules are in use. Some bookmakers void match-winner bets when the match was not completed. Others settle them if the first set was completed, and others as soon as the match has started: then the player who retired loses. Check your bookmaker's tennis rules before you bet.
It depends on the market. Classic 1X2 in ice hockey is settled on regulation time, but goal lines and handicaps are offered in two versions: with overtime and the shootout, or without. The market description or the bookmaker's rules tell you which version you are playing.
Most often 24–48 hours from the original start, though some bookmakers allow more time, especially at tournaments. If the match is not played within that window, the bet is void and you get your stake back, and in an accumulator the leg counts at odds of 1.00.
The void leg gets odds of 1.00 and the other legs play on. The combined odds and the potential return go down, but the slip is not cancelled. For example, a slip of 1.50 × 1.80 × 1.45 = 3.915 has odds of 2.175 once the middle leg is void.
At most bookmakers, no: if the player did not come on to the pitch, you get your stake back. If he came on, even for a minute, the bet stands and loses if he did not score. Own goals do not count for goalscorer bets.
Usually not. Bookmakers settle bets on the result on the pitch at the final whistle, and later disciplinary decisions do not change bets already settled. If a walkover was awarded because the match never took place, bets are void.
It depends on the market. On a yellow-cards-only market a red does not count, and a player sent off for two yellows gives one yellow. On booking points, as UK bookmakers usually offer them, a yellow is 10 points and a red 25. In the 1/2/3 points one bookmaker we track uses, a red gives 2 points and a sending-off after two yellows 3 in total. Always check the market description.